The broth is tangy and aromatic, the fish slices are white and tender, and the pickled mustard greens are refreshingly crisp.
Sour Cabbage Fish (Suan Cai Yu) is a dish beloved across China—it's not difficult to make and comes together quickly. One key point: shredded pickled mustard greens are very absorbent, so the broth will reduce significantly as it simmers. If you don't add enough water early on, you'll find there's barely any liquid left when it's time to poach the fish slices, and adding water at that point will dilute the flavor. Also, when plating, use only half the pickled greens as a base; if you put all of them in the bowl, they'll take up too much room and leave no space for the fish.
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
1000 g (about 2.2 lbs) grass carp
It is best to choose a fish with plenty of meat and few bones; black fish (snakehead) is the top choice. Grass carp and common carp also work, though they have more bones, but their flesh is more tender than that of black fish.
Additional Ingredients
Sichuan pickled mustard greens 400 g (about 14 oz)
For the pickled cabbage, it's best to use Sichuan-style pickled cabbage rather than the Northeastern variety.
Marinate the fish with 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon cooking wine, 1 egg white, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch, mixing well and letting it sit for 10 minutes.
1 g salt
5 g (about 1 teaspoon) Shaoxing wine
egg white and cornstarch, a small amount of each
Other Seasonings
5 g (about 1 teaspoon) white pepper powder
2 g salt
Sichuan peppercorns, to taste
ginger and garlic, to taste
If you enjoy spicy food, you can also add some pickled chili peppers or pickled ginger, or other similar pickled vegetables.
Instructions
Instructions
Preparation
① Clean and prepare the fish, then fillet both sides along the backbone, remove the skin, and slice the meat diagonally into thin pieces. Toss with the fish marinade and let sit for 20 minutes. Split the fish head and chop the bones into small pieces, then sprinkle with a little Shaoxing wine and toss to coat (Image 3).
*If you don't know how to remove the fish skin, it's fine to leave it on.
② Rinse the pickled mustard greens briefly, then slice them into thin shreds across the grain. Cut the ginger into large slices and the garlic into thick slices for later use (Figure 4).
*Rinse the pickled mustard greens briefly, but don't wash them too thoroughly or the tangy aroma will fade; slice them into thin strips to help release their full flavor.
Stir-fry the seasonings.
In a wok, heat an appropriate amount of oil over high heat, add Sichuan peppercorns and heat until fragrant (Image 5), then add ginger and garlic and stir-fry until aromatic (Image 6).
*Use more oil than usual—about double the amount you'd use for stir-frying—since you'll be cooking the pickled mustard greens later; if there's not enough oil, the aroma won't come through.
④ Place the shredded pickled mustard greens into the pot and stir-fry over high heat until fragrant, about 1 minute (Image 7). Pour in enough hot water, bring to a boil over high heat, and cook for 3 minutes (Image 8).
*The pickled mustard greens must be stir-fried over high heat with hot oil to release their full aroma; always add boiling water, never cold water.
Simmer the fish.
⑤ Place the fish head and bones in the pot, cover, and cook over high heat for 5-6 minutes until the broth turns slightly cloudy and white (Figure 9).
*Be sure to boil the fish bones over high heat to develop a rich flavor and turn the broth milky white.
⑥ Remove the pickled mustard greens, fish head, and fish bones from the pot, placing them in a large bowl as a base, leaving only the broth in the pot (Figure 10). Add salt and white pepper, bring to a boil again, then quickly add the fish fillets. Cook over medium heat, allowing the hot broth to gently poach the fish until just cooked through (Figure 11). Pour everything—broth and fish—into the large bowl and serve.
In this step, adding white pepper is very important—be sure to use a generous amount, as it helps enhance the aroma and remove any fishy taste.
*When adding the fish fillets, do not dump them all in at once; instead, add them separately, otherwise they will clump together.
After adding the fish slices, do not turn the heat up too high; keep the soup just below a boil to gently poach the fish until cooked through, which ensures the slices remain tender and silky.
Cooking Notes
When buying pickled mustard greens from the market, they are often sold before being fully fermented, resulting in a very mild flavor, so for this dish you need to use a generous amount to achieve a rich, tangy aroma. If the pickled greens aren't sour enough, you can add some white vinegar. However, if you're using homemade aged pickled mustard greens, half the amount will suffice.